Let The Games Begin
by arisuniiro
Summary: This couldn't be happening. I was stuck against the one person I couldn't face in the arena: my brother. How could I do this? T for violence, skipping CF, Rin/Peeta POV.
1. Reaping

**Let The Games Begin**

Chapter One

Reaping

For the third time, today marks the end of the world. Today. Reaping day.

I know that it doesn't make sense, but I'm actually not the first person I worry about when this day comes. There are two people who are my life, my best friends, everything I could ever need. My twin brother and our best friend. And if either of their names were drawn in the reaping, I swear I would die. I would volunteer for our friend, but I couldn't do a thing for my brother. And that's what hurts.

"Riiiiiin!" I hear Teto's voice as she charges up the dirt path leading to our house. Well, it leads to the coal mine, which our house is right by. Hers is close too. The three of us, we live in District 12. Teto pushes the door open. She's 15, a year older than me and Len. Teto slams the door open. "RIN!!" she repeats, flinging herself onto me. "The reaping is today!" I can hear Len groan. "Shh," I whisper. "I think you woke Len up." She giggles. "Oooops." Then she wails, "WHAT IF ONE OF US GETS CALLED?" She collapses into a fit of fake-sobbing, but I know that all of the emotion behind it is real. Just like I would be devastated if Len or Teto got called, he and Teto would be devastated if I got called.

"Teto! Relax!" I command, grabbing her shoulders. "This is your third year. It's Len's and my second. We haven't been called yet!" Teto cuts off her fake-sniffling. "Fine," she sighs. "Let's go hunt. LEN!" she screams up the stairs. "COME ON! HUNTING!"

Hunting is almost unheard of in District 12. I've heard that Katniss, the ultra-famous winner of the Seventy-Fourth Games, did hunting before she went in the arena. She doesn't anymore. For a long time, nobody hunted. But now, Teto, Len, and I are all hunting. Illegally, still, but hunting. We all have our specialties. Teto can use a bow and arrow to shoot a rabbit half a mile away. Len set snares that could trap someone heavier than me, and throws spears. I'm decent with a knife.

"Ughhh," Len groans, rubbing the back of his head as he comes into the small main room. "Teto!" he snaps. "I was asleep!" She giggles. "Come on," she urges. Grabbing my wrist, then Len's, she pulls us out of our own house towards the woods.

"Let's go," Teto whispers. She wriggles under the fence in a rut she found about a year ago, while Len and I climb over it. It's supposed to be electrified but Mayor Undersee really doesn't care, esepcially since she buys some of what we find.

As usual, once we get to the other side, Teto has already started pulling a snare line over. I carefully grab two of my four knives in one hand, looking for game. Len takes over the snares, grabbing his forage bag and spear from where he stashes them. He starts walking down the line of snares, grabbing whatever fell into his delicate traps. Teto grabs her bow and a quiver of arrows. "You go left, I go right," she calls, starting to skirt along the edge of the trees. It's her typical instruction. I start walking through the trees, pulling a third knife from my thin jacket into my left hand. Maybe we'd find a treat for reaping day. The odds were against us being pulled--none of us took tessarae; we were all perfectly happy with our hunting. Technically, Teto had the highest chance of the three of us, and even then it was a thin chance. I grinned. Another year, another fear, another reaping going to come and leave harmlessly.

Gripping my knives even tighter now, I make my way deeper into the forest. Suddenly, I stop and stare. _No way._ There was no way that I was looking at this.

Standing, poised as though it was ready to run but thought I may be safe, was a deer.

I threw the knife in my left hand hard. It hit dead center in the flank. Suddenly sensing that I wasn't safe, the deer started running too late. It collapsed to the ground, still trying to somehow crawl. I took my two knives in my right hand and threw them. One hit in its head, the other in its neck. I ran over, quickly pulling all three out. A deer--what amazing luck! Just when I was thinking about a treat for not getting reaped! I grabbed it and hurried back to where we started. About ten minutes later, Len came back with a full forage bag. He had reset every snare down the line--knowing him, it had taken almost no time. He gaped at the massive deer. "Whoa." I grinned. "You like?"

A couple minutes later, Teto arrived, wide-eyed. "Have you even _seen_ all the deer here?" she demanded. "I didn't get one, but I got some rabbits--RIN!! YOU GOT A DEER!!" she squealed, wrapping me in a massive hug. "Treat for reaping day!" I giggled. Teto's excitement was infectious. Before long, Len had squeezed me too. "Nice work," he whispered in my ear. I grinned. "Good snare run. C'mon."

On the way back, all three of us had to go under the fence. Teto went first, with her forage bag. Then, we managed to push the deer through, and Len's forage bag. Finally, Len and I wriggled under. I grinned at the thought of how much we could get. We'd probably sell half the deer in the Hob, and half of Len's snare run. Teto didn't like selling her stuff--she normally fifty-fiftied it between Len and I, and her and her much-older brother Ted. We could get so much for all of this.

An hour of cutting, haggling, and trading later, the three of us have a feast ready for after the reaping. We had the legs and rump of the deer, five squirrels, three rabbits, a massive bowl of stew courtesy of Mira (Greasy Sae's daughter), some beautiful loaves of bread, and some tart-looking blackberries that we had picked soon after leaving the woods. Teto grins at the impressive spread. "What--a--FEAST!" she declares joyously. "How amazing is this going to be?" she asks, giggling.

Three hours later, it's time for the reaping. I can't stop the bile that rises in my stomach, or the awful pain of fear that I feel. But I know that the odds are beautifully slim for me being called, or Len, or Teto. Len and I go through our clothes until we find nice reaping outfits. I have a nice light ice-blue sundress with satiny pink wrap. Len has a lot less to choose from, but in the end, he chooses a dark blue suit, with the sleeves cut to three-quarters. The two of us? Ready for the worst.

Len and I stand, side by side, gripping hands with force enough to turn every knuckle white. We stand at the front of the group of fourteen-year-olds. Teto is at the back of the fifteen-year-old group. She keeps on looking back at us, as if trying to ascertain that we hadn't disappeared or something. I swallow hard every time that she does. It makes me even more nervous.

Pretty soon, it's time for the ceremonies to start. Mayor Madge Undersee is standing on the podium. Two of the four District 12 victors are still alive. Neither particularly like reapings. They come, but they really didn't come--they just sort of sit there and clap when everyone else does and don't pay attention. They only focus when it's time to train, or so I've heard. Not that anyone's ever lived to say that. Just rumors and letters to home.

Anyways, the victors, Katniss and Peeta, are sitting in a couple of chairs to Madge's left, and with them the bubbly escort, Effie Abernathy, named after her mother Effie Trinket. I keep gripping Len's hand tighter, then loosening. He does the same to me. Neither of us really pay much attention to a word that Madge says. We just sit there, gripping and releasing, until Effie comes up to center stage. I don't know who she's calling first, boys or girls, because she changes it every so often, and some years instead of saying "Ladies first," she says--

"Let's have the gentlemen first for once, shall we?" I'm ready to collapse. What if Len gets called, no he won't, no he can't, the odds are so slim, and now she's rooting around in the bowl with the slips of paper, and three of them have something awful written on them, and what if she pulls out one that says--

"Len Kagamine!"

Oh, no. Oh no, no, no, _no!_ How could this had happened? He had three slips of paper in the bowl, out of probably a thousand! How could this have _happened?!_ And now I'm squeezing him like I want to break him, and Teto's squeezing us, and then we have to let go, and Len's walking up to the stage, and he looks ready to faint, and I just _need_ to stop thinking and relax...

"Now, for the ladies!" But I can't relax! What if I get called? That would be _hell._ And what if Teto got called? That would be even worse! Teto and I are gripping each other now, trying to remind each other about our deal. I think back to the deal we made two years ago.

_"Teto?" I ask, nervously. It's the day of my first reaping. "Can I ask you a question?" She looks up at me from where she's sitting on a rock. "What is it, Rin?" I swallow, hard. "Can I make a deal with you?" She frowns. "What?" I swallow again._

_"Well... it's just, if I get called, I wouldn't want you to go in for me... and if you get called, I know you wouldn't want me to go in for you... so, could we both agree... not to volunteer?" Teto looks pained, like I had just tried to stab her in the back, but she can see the logic. I can tell. The recognition is in her eyes. Finally, after a few minutes, she sighs. "Yeah. Sure, Rin."_

_"Promise?" I demand. I don't want her to go in for me. I would hate myself if she went in for me. She would hate herself if I went in for her. I stick out my hand. Shake it, Teto..._

Effie has pulled out the slip of paper, and she's said the name, but I can't hear it. I can't hear anything. All I can hear is my heartbeat and my breaths. That's all I want to hear, because I can almost hear the worst. Teto's squeezing me now, sobbing uncontrollably into my shoulder, and whispering something that sounds like "Remember I love you both" into my ear. Has Teto been called? But, no. Because I almost can't understand a thing, but the next time I'm fully aware, I'm standing on a stage, squeezing hands again. It's not with Teto this time, though. I'm squeezing hands with Len. And all of a sudden, I let myself hear what Effie said, because I think I know what it is. And I'm right. I hear the two words that can suddenly terrify me.

"Rin Kagamine."

_A/N: Critiques, people! Reviews! Say what you think, pleeeeease! Comments, questions, anything! Mille grazie, fellow psychos and non-psychos. Ciao!_


	2. Goodbye

**Let The Games Begin**

Chapter Two

My Last Goodbyes

Len and I keep squeezing hands the whole way to the Justice Building. I wasn't paying enough attention to know what happened between realizing that Effie called my name and this moment. I was pretty sure that Len wasn't either. We're both whispering out of the corners of our mouths about what we wanted to do with our house, our belongings, everything. The general consensus: Ted and Teto. Teto would need a house; Ted could use some food; it would help them. Our last act of kindness before death...

The two of us keep on squeezing until we reach the top of the building in the elevator. They make us go into two separate rooms for goodbyes. It's ironic-this way, I will never be able to say the goodbye to the person I need to the most. But, either way, we'll have more than enough time for that. Right now, it's just me and whoever walked in, not me and Len, not me and myself. Right now, it's just me and Teto.

For a long, long moment, neither of us say a word, just looking at each other. Then, I surprise both of us by bursting into tears. She wraps me up in her arms, burying her head into my shoulder. "It'll be okay," she whispers. "It'll be okay." She sort of rocks back and forth, just squeezing me like she never can again. She probably can't, actually. I sniffle, holding her.

I never want to leave this moment. Teto isn't just my friend, she's almost my sister. I never want to let go, but I do. "Len and I... we want it all to be yours," I whisper, my voice starting to get hoarse from all of the sobbing. "Our house, our food, our clothes, all for you and Ted." Teto's eyes are wide, and tearing up. "Rin!" she wails, hugging me again. "I'm going to miss you! Get back! Don't die! Don't be first! Do your best!" She's yelling all of this and more at such a rapidfire speed that I can barely understand all of it. Finally, her time is up, and she has to leave.

My next visitor is more surprising than Teto, but only barely. I had figured that Ted would come and visit, anyways. We were never very close. After all, he's seventeen years older than me. And I really just didn't get along with him. Something about his attitude, I was pretty sure. But still, he's just standing there. He doesn't look like he wants to do much other than say something. I'm perfectly fine with that.

After a pause he says, "Don't die first." I grin. "Teto said that same thing to me." Ted shrugs. "And Len said it's all ours?" He visited Len first. Figures. He actually likes Len. But whatever. I expected that. "Yeah, it's all yours. I told Teto." He nods. "Good." After a pause, he repeats, "Don't die first," nods at me curtly, and walks away. "Thanks for the advice," I call after him. For some reason, I'm oddly touched by the fact that he came and said anything at all. And it puts me in a better mood. Probably because I just like hearing him tell me not to die. Well, die first.

When my third visitor walks in, I have to do a double-take. "M-Mayor Undersee?" I gasp. She smiles, almost sadly, looking around the room, carefully taking a seat. "You can call me Madge, Rin," she says. "It's been twenty years," she whispers to herself. I'm confused. Has she been here before? Then, Madge looks at me right in the eye. I'm surprised; not only has she visited, but she seems ready to say something important.

"Rin, did you know that Katniss was my personal friend when we were your age?" I sort of swallow a little bit. "No," I answer softly. That's true-to the best of my knowledge, they were friends in adulthood. Madge smiles, sadly again. "I came in to see her too, that day twenty years ago. And I gave her something too." Too? So she's giving me something?

After a deep breath, Madge reaches out, hand closed around something. Then she opens it to reveal a necklace. It's a beautiful necklace, not a fancy one like the ones I see in the Capitol, but a simple one. The "beads" on it seem to be made of hollowed-out wood. Exact decorative designs are carved into them. It's simple, it's quaint, and it's beautiful. Madge takes another deep breath and swallows. Is she nervous? I'm confused.

"This necklace is something that one of Katniss's friends, Gale, made. He died in the coal mines recently, but he had such skill with things like this. He gave several to Katniss, and she gave two to me. She told me, "Madge, if you see a tribute who you know will win, give one to them like you gave something to me." I heard your name, Rin, and I grabbed the necklace. Because I know you're going to do it, and find a way to get Len out too."

I can feel my throat aching with the tears that I have to cry. I'm so touched by this. She believes in me. She thinks I can win, and get Len to live too. Madge thinks I can win. I take the necklace. It's light, and there's something I didn't see before: it looks like a hardened berry with a 12 carved into it. I roll the berry around carefully between my fingers, examining it. "How did he do this to the berry?" I ask, looking up. Madge shrugs a little bit. "I think he got something from Katniss that froze it in time or something." I let the tears spill over. "Thank you," I whisper, wiping a tear from my cheek. "Thank you so much." Madge smiles, this time happier. "Rin, I believe you can do this. Win for everybody here-your friend Teto, and your brother, and most importantly, for you." She stands up, brushes her long skirt off, and walks out.

Nobody comes to see me for the rest of the time, but it's still a little while before I can leave. I find Len, and I grab his hand, ready to squeeze. He looks at me before he squeezes. "Rin, I want to tell you something." I swallow, then nod. I have to be ready for anything now.`

"Rin, I want you to win. I don't want to win if it means that you have to die. And..." he averts his gaze for half a second, then looks back at me. "Madge came in," he said softly. I nod-I had figured that she would. "She said that she thinks one of us can win. And I agree with her. She said that she thinks you'll win, and I don't disagree for a second. But the thing is, then she said something weird. She said that she thinks we'll both make it out." He watches me for my reaction, eyes puzzled. "Do you know why she said that?"

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out for a second. Finally I manage to say, "She came to me too. And she said that she thinks I'll figure out a way to get us both out." He stares at me, disbelieving. Then he shakes his head. "Rin, I don't know if you believed her or not, but I hope you know that you can't. Katniss and Peeta were the only two to do that, in ninety-three other years. How can you do it?" I'm a little upset. The thing is, in the time alone, I managed to convince myself that Madge was right. I can get us both out, and I will. But it would be harder with Len not supporting me. Oh, well. I could still do it!

"Len, I'm going to do it," I tell him, staring into his eyes with all of my emotions and heart hopefully going into it. "I'm going to get us both out, whether you think I can or not. Trust me, we'll do it." He looks at me, and then sighs, looking down. "Sure, Rin. Whatever you say."

I'm hurt. He won't believe me. He won't support me. It's no mystery why-Len has always been practical. Teto and I are the dreamers in the group. With both of our brothers always telling us that none of what we dreamed of could happen, we only dreamed harder. It was in a dream that we first thought of hunting, anyways. Who were they to tell us we couldn't? Now I'm mad. Fine. If Len won't believe me, see if it stops me! I'd like to see him try and convince me that I can't save us both. We will both make it out of the arena alive, no matter what. Just like Madge said, I'd do it for Teto, for him, and for me.

With that decided, I squeezed his hand as we boarded the train, cameras following our backs. Time to get out of here. I take a long look back, totally ignoring the cameras that I know are zooming in on my face. This isn't going to be the last time I see this, I promise myself. I'm going to see it all again. And so will Len.

Because no matter what he says, we're both going to live.

_It's about freakin' time, don't you think? The best part is there's either one or two more chapters coming today! Rate and review! Jess-chan loves you all!_


	3. Peeta and Rin

**Let The Games Begin**

Chapter Three

Peeta and Rin

(Note: This chapter is from Peeta's POV.)

The very second we got on the train, I glance at Katniss. She's frowning, deep in thought. "What?" I ask, confused. She had seemed okay earlier. Now, she just shakes her head, like to clear it. "Nothing, Peeta," she murmurs. "Just thinking..." I can tell what she was thinking about. It's the same every year. She's thinking of the tributes she couldn't save. Katniss can't stand being unable to help them. It's a constant self-struggle of hers.

"Well," she says after a second, "time to get started. You go in the next car over. Effie'll get them where they need to go." I nod, hug her tightly, and slide into the next car. A minute later, the front door in the car opens and there's a boy standing there. He looks like a merchant's kid, with his blond hair and blue eyes and fancy clothes, but he's sort of dirty, like he went out into the woods and fell down a dirt bank or something. I already like him.

I motion to a chair that's in the car. "Go on, sit," I say. A Capitol attendant randomly appears with a cup of hot chocolate. She hands it to me and then leaves. The boy is staring. No wonder- he's never had this kind of luxury available to him, even in his dreams. "What's your name?" I ask just as the attendant reappears, hands me another mug, and scurries out. I hand the boy the mug, and then I sit in another chair, facing him. The boy blinks, takes a small sip from the mug, and says, "Len Kagamine." I smile. "Well, Len, I'm Peeta, and I'm going to be your mentor, in case you didn't know." The boy has to smile at that. "Yes, I knew that."

For a moment, we just sit there, drinking from our steamy mugs. Then, he stops. "So, what now?" he asks. I have to admit, I'm impressed by the fact that he doesn't beat around the bush. He wants to live through this. "Well," I say, "do you know your partner?" Len nods, slowly, almost sadly. "Good. I figured you would. Now, since people have a tendency to talk themselves down, you're going to go into the other car and tell Katniss all about your partner. At the same time, you're partner's going to be in here talking to me. Okay?" He nods, and gets up. "Now?" I nod. Still drinking from his mug, he walks briskly into the next car.

A moment later, I see someone looking around the corner. They have blonde hair and blue eyes. At first, I'm a little annoyed, thinking that it's Len again doing something. I take another drink of my cocoa as they step inside. And then I freeze. This is a girl, wearing a light blue dress. She is not Len. She is his spitting image, though. She could be...

...his twin.

Instantly, I'm choking on the sweet drink in my mouth. The girl in the light blue dress pauses, panicked, then is by my side in an instant and is slamming her hand down onto my back. The cocoa comes back up, all over the floor. She's staring down at me, concerned. "Are you okay?" she asks. I nod slowly. "Are you and Len..." I see her bright blue eyes fill with tears. "It sucks," she whispers. "It really, really sucks. But he's my twin brother." She pulls in a sharp breath, then relaxes. "But I'll be okay. My name is Rin Kagamine." She sticks her hand out for a handshake. I have to like that. I shake it, making a mental note to tell Katniss that she can hit hard.

After she shakes my hand, she sits down. "So... I'm supposed to tell you about Len, right?" she asks, a smile slowly stretching across her face. I nod, leaning back in my chair. "Go ahead." Rin is grinning now. "Great. So, here it is." She takes a deep breath, then begins.

"Well, he's really good with making things... like, he made his spears, and my knife handles, and our friend Teto's bow. Speaking of his spears, he can throw them hard! Once he took down a deer that I swear was like a quarter-mile away!" Her eyes are sparkling as she thinks about memories long ago. "And also, he makes these amazing snares. Once, a few years ago, I accidentally stepped in one, and it held me! I'm nearly a hundred pounds, and it held me up for an hour before he got to me in the snare run! Len is just... he's just..." all of a sudden, her expression is saddened, and tears back in her eyes. "I don't want to lose him," Rin whispers. "I don't want to lose him."

I don't know what to say for a moment. It's fairly obvious that Rin loves Len a lot, maybe even more than herself. But if she wants to get through this, she has to reconcile with herself. I don't know, realize that she's just as important as him. And Rin looks... ambitious. Like a dreamer. Like Katniss. Katniss got both of us out of the arena alive...

"Rin, I try not to get attached," I say. What am I doing? I never say much to the girls, and even to the boys, I don't say this kind of thing. But, it has to be said. "But I'm going to tell you something: you look like the kind of person who can do it. You both are going to get out of the arena alive." She looks up at me, blue eyes wide with hope. "Really?" she whispers. I nod. Rin swallows. "That's what Madge said," she says, almost in a whisper. She holds out the necklace.

I recognize it, of course. Katniss has probably twenty. It was Gale's. The carving on the little wooden beads is delicate and beautiful. But there's something I don't recognize. There's what looks like a berry at the end, with a twelve carved into it. And what was she saying about Madge?

Suddenly, I realize Rin is talking, and start listening intently, still examining the necklace. "She gave it to me. She told me that she thought I could win, and that Katniss gave it to her for the tribute she thought would win. And she said that she thought I could get us both out." I look at her. Her face is rigid with determination as she pulls her hand back and fastens the necklace around her neck. "I believe her," I say softly. She nods. "I do too." Her face splits into a smile.

"So, now what?" Rin says. I pause, thinking. "Now, you and Len go to your rooms while Katniss and I talk," I answer. She nods. "Where is that?" Almost on cue, an Avox rushes out. She has sort of curly shoulder-length gray hair, bright red eyes, and an unusual addition: cracked purple goggles. She's in the customary white tunic, though. The Avox motions for Rin to follow her as she begins to leave. Rin follows, and I'm alone in the room for less than a minute before Katniss comes in and sits down.

"You've got a good one this year," I tell her. "Rin's got a good heart." Katniss grins. "So does Len, you know. But, he seems a little... shy." I shrug. "He's not a bad kid." Then I pause. "Rin can hit hard," I say after a second. Katniss stares for a second. "What?" So, I tell her the story about the hot chocolate. She grins. "Ha! Now I know that she's going to be a good one. They're survivors." She pauses. "So. What did she have to say about Len?"

"Snares, craftsmanship, and spears. Apparently, he makes a lot of snares and spears, and he's good at it." I grin a little at the thought. Katniss has taken on an almost-upset look, though. After a second, I realize what she's upset about. Gale was an expert snare-maker. It must sound like Len is Gale reborn to her. Quickly, I switch topics. "So, what about Rin? What's she good at?" Katniss blinks, trying to return to reality from whatever world of thoughts she was in. "Knives," she says, almost absently, still only halfway back. "Like... like Clove." Suddenly she's very thoughtful. "Exactly like Clove," she murmurs. "He said she took a deer down today, just before the reaping." She grins at the idea of someone hunting again.

Finally, after a couple of seconds, I ask her, "Did you see Rin's necklace?" She looks at me sharply. "Necklace?" she repeats. I have a feeling that she knows what I'm talking about. "She said Madge gave it to her. It was one of Gale's..." I trail off, seeing the look on her face. Gale died in a mine explosion just a few months ago, and she was still getting over it. Katniss bites her lip. "Madge is very smart," she says finally. "I'd place my bets on Rin too." I look over at her again, and she has a faraway look on her face.

"Peeta, would you bet on her too?" I grin. "Yes. I'm betting on her." Katniss grins too, at the thought of Cinna. "Remember, girl on fire, I'm betting on you," he had said. "Good, we're in agreement," she declares. "Now, c'mon. We have dinner, and then a recap of a reaping to watch."

_Okay, well, this isn't as good as the others, is it? Don't worry, I'm going back to Rin's POV next. Review please!_


	4. Reapings and Dinner

**Let the Games Begin**

Chapter Four

Reapings and Dinner

After the attendant escorts me into my quarters, I immediately go searching for Len. When we find each other, we embrace, saying every word that we can't say aloud. After a minute, we go to freshen up. I hop into the shower, and am instantly confused by the massive panel of options before me. In the end, I get out, rub water and soap mixed together all over my body, rinse out my hair, and dry off with a fluffy white towel. Once I reenter my room, I see that an outfit has been laid out for me. I pull on the metallic blue short-sleeved tunic, which comes to the tops of my thighs, and the dark black pants. The socks are thick, gray, and warm inside darker gray shoes. I feel comfortable. Then, before I know it, it's time for dinner.

Dinner is the most amazing thing that Len and I have ever seen. The very moment the first soup comes out, I know we're in for a treat. The soup is made of something thick and creamy, but it's dark blue. At first, it looks absolutely disgusting, but then when I try it, it's sweet and almost fruity. There are little sweet grapes in it that explode in my mouth whenever my tongue even touches them, and it's topped with a melty cheese.

After that, the courses only seem to get better and better. Massive two-inch-thick slices of a deep red-brown meat, topped with some savory herb. A salad topped with a tart bright red dressing and slices of thick potatoes. And, best of all, a giant pot of three colors of chocolate all swirled together, with some huge strawberries, orange slices, apple chunks, and blueberries on the side. After I try to restrain myself, I find that I just can't anymore, so I reach in and start eating the stuff with my fingers. Effie looks like I just gave her an electric shock, she's so surprised. Katniss is doubled over laughing. Len is grinning, and after a moment, he and Peeta both reach in and do the same.

After a few minutes of laughter at Effie's horror, which she eventually joins in with, we go into a room with a television to watch the recap of the reapings. Peeta settles down with a notebook, seemingly ready to mark down if a tribute could be dangerous or not. Katniss takes a deep breath and then releases. Len swallows hard. Effie smiles excitedly, oblivious to our worry.

I'm terrified, because I have a photographic memory. If I remember these people and their names, remember the people who cried out in horror as their closest friends were called, the parents screaming for someone to volunteer and save their child, the little siblings sobbing, I can't kill them, I know I can't. But I grit my teeth and prepare myself, because I know that if Len and I are to live, then they can't. And so the torture begins.

First up is the District One reaping. The girl is called first, as tradition calls for; what Effie did was the unusual thing. The girl is named Lola, but I miss the last name because I'm trying to forget her first. She has unusually dark skin for District One, and jet-black hair, piled in a pouf on top of her head. The boy is called, Leon; he has normal light skin, blond hair, and bright blue eyes. As I watch him walk up proudly, I realize that he looks like Len, only about two years older.

When District Two's girl is called, I hear Katniss draw in a sharp breath of pain. The girl, Yuki, is black-haired and brown-eyes. But what's upsetting is that she looks to be nine and is probably just barely twelve. She doesn't look like a death sentence is quite what she wanted. The boy, Hiyama, on the other hand, seems almost pleased to go in. He's tall, with short black hair, and carries himself like a businessman. He's probably eighteen, and I hear Peeta's pencil scratch against paper as he denotes that we should probably watch out for him.

District Three is a bit of a blur, as my mind is still on Yuki and her death sentence. But I'm paying enough attention to see that Miki, the redhead from Three, volunteers to go in. Her partner is named Renzi. But, when District Four's girl is called, I feel my world snap into focus. The girl who is called is young, cowering, and probably thirteen. But then another girl volunteers. Her name is Meiko, she's probably about eighteen, but she's skinny and poorly muscled. As she goes up, she gives the first girl a hug. Meiko didn't volunteer because she thought she could win, I suddenly realize. It was to save that girl. I'm still thinking about this as her partner Colt is called up. I glance at Len, who is looking at me, and I know: we want Meiko.

District Five seems to have a tragedy of its own. The girl, Chii Feirune, is probably about seventeen, looking ready to live, and it's totally normal. But then, the boy is called. His name is Aido, but his last name is also Feirune. I see the smile drop from Chii's face, and change into a look of horror. Aido looks upset, too, probably only a year younger. They don't want to kill each other. I wonder if they'll try and both get out, too.

I'm not at all surprised as I start to tune out during District Six, and then Seven. I gather enough information to see that the girl from Six is named Ruko, and the boy is named Seiya. I'm pretty sure that the girl from Seven is named Mako, but I totally miss the boy from Seven. Hibiki, or something. By District Eight, I'm beginning to wake up and realize that no matter what, this is our competition. The girl from Eight is named Luka. Her coral-pink hair somehow reminds me of Teto, even though it's not even close to the same color. Teto... I wonder if she's watching the recap, too. Probably; it's mandatory. I miss her so much. The boy from Eight is called Gakupo. He accepts it like it's such an honor.

District Nine rolls in, and I instantly like the two tributes for some reason. Miku, a girl with bright green hair, doesn't look quite ready to give up Kaito, a boy with darker blue hair. I think back to Meiko and suddenly wonder if I'm ready to make such a large alliance. It's one thing to be able to get me and Len out alive. It's another entirely to go for three different districts' tributes. I bite my lip, trying to figure out what I should do. Eventually, I think back to one of Teto's favorite sayings: come back to it later. I need to focus on the reapings and then pick. With this settled, my eyes go back to the screen in time to see the the District Ten tributes.

The two from Ten, Miriam and Ron, don't seem particularly threatening, but I still hear Peeta's pencil scratching away every moment. I wonder for a moment what he's writing, but then I realize I don't really care. I glance back at the screen to watch the reaping from Eleven. The girl, Gumi, looks a lot like the attendant that showed me to my room. The only differences are the bright green hair, the outfit, and the fact that her goggles are red and not cracked. I don't notice much about the boy, Sora, because suddenly I realize that Len and I are about to be live on every screen for the first time of many.

Sure enough, we're next. I have to close my eyes before the camera is completely on Len as he's called, because I can see myself and Teto. It'd hurt too much to see us all together, because despite my dreams and wishes, the odds are against that ever happening again. When Len is on the stage, I watch as I'm called up. I squeeze Teto like I want to pop her, and then I'm on the stage.

The rest of the night gets blurry around the edges as I get tired. The last thing that I can really remember is Peeta saying that tomorrow is a stylist day. I walk dazedly into my room, flop onto my bed, and then I'm asleep.

_Well, well, well! Rin should know better than to make such a big group, huh? Rate and review! Jess says adios for the day! Peace!_


	5. Chariots

**Let the Games Begin**

Chapter Five

Chariots

My eyes are squeezed shut, and my teeth are gritted, but that doesn't make it hurt any less when Alasia, the only member of my prep team with half a brain, yanks the hair off of my arm. She gives me a sympathetic look, but it's hard to take her seriously. Her hair has been dyed into a vertical rainbow- an inch of red hair, then orange, et cetera- and her lip has been pierced with an inch-long green metallic bar. "Sorry!" she gasps as I squeak a little bit. "I'm trying! It's almost over!"

Surprisingly, she's the most normal of my prep team. Marcus, who is currently pulling my loose hair into calculated curls, is wearing glasses with inch-thick black rectangular frames around them. He's dressed somewhat businesslike, in a very nice charcoal-colored suit. The only problem with him is that every inch of his skin maches the black in his outfit, hair, and glasses. "Oh, it's fine, Alasia," he says carelessly, wrenching my hair back, nearly out of my head. "Don't be such a drama queen."

Yasmin, who is finishing filing my toenails, has somehow gotten her eyes enlarged so they take up about half of the plane of her face. It's somewhat disturbing, and it doesn't help that her eyelids are tattooed violet. Not to mention, she has something that looks suspiciously like cat's whiskers protruding from inside her mass of neon pink curls. "Shut up, Marcus," she sighs. Even though she's an airhead, Yasmin's heart is in the right place. It's hard not to like her.

Carefully, I roll my eyes upward to glare at Marcus, because his most recent curl actually did pull some of my hair out. "Please," I say in a sugary-sweet tone, "don't pull all of my hair out." Marcus rolls his eyes. "Grease her down," he snaps, right as Yasmin lifts her nail file as she finishes and my final bits of arm hair are waxed out by Alasia. They rub me with some kind of lotion while Marcus continues messing with my hair. It feels like he's washing it, because it's all wet, but it's ridiculously painful for a washing. Finally, I can't take it anymore.

"What are you doing to my hair?" I demand, trying to twist away. Marcus looks down at me disapprovingly. 'I am _trying_ to use some con-di-tion-er," he snaps, pronouncing every syllable. I glare at him. "And using some _con-di-tion-er_ will nearly scalp me?" Marcus sighs. "I was _try-_ing to rub it in!"

"Marcus, can't you see you're hurting her?" Yasmin snaps suddenly. Alasia, still rubbing lotion onto my stinging skin, nods vigorously. Marcus's mouth opens in surprise, and then closes. "Fine," he says through pursed lips. "You take over. I'll grease her."

Yasmin is much more gentle, lightly massaging conditioner through my curled hair. Vaguely, I wonder why it got curled in the first place if I'll just get the curls washed out. Maybe it's so they know where to curl when they do it again, but that's just stupid. Why do they have to do it twice? Marcus is still rubbing me very vigorously. I feel like I'm going to have a bruise on my leg where he's rubbing the same spot with lotion over and over and over again.

After the lotion sinks in and my skin is no longer stinging, Marcus walks out without a word. Alasia sighs, watching his back disappear, then turns to me. "Don't worry, he's just a sourpuss," she says apologetically. I catch myself wondering where on earth she got the word "sourpuss" from, even though I don't care. "I'll go get Al. Yasmin, you go make sure that he doesn't punch a window or something!"

As Alasia and Yasmin bustle out, I pick up my robe, just in case I need to put it on. After Len and I went to bed last night, we found ourselves rolling into the Capitol as we woke up. We're currently in prep for the chariot ride around City Circle. Since Katniss and Peeta's fiery debut twenty years ago, the costumes for District Twelve went from spectacular to amazing to decent, to downright shameful. Last year, for the third time in ninety-four years, the tributes were just covered in coal dust. I hope this new stylist- and he certainly is new, because there's been nobody named Al before- will make us look presentable.

Who I believe is Al walks in, and I have to try not to laugh. He looks somewhat normal, really. His hair appears to be naturally black, though I'm not a good judge of natural hair color, considering I haven't seen much dye. His skin appears to be naturally tanned, although I'm not a good judge of this either. But there seems to be either staples or stitches across his forehead, and it looks somewhat old-fashioned, pre-Panem monster-movie-bad-guy-ish.

"I'm your stylist, Big-Al," he says in a deep, gravelly voice. He simply looks over me and nods. "Exactly what I thought," he says softly to himself. "Let's have lunch, prep must have left you starving." I put on my robe and follow him out to a beautiful balcony, overlooking the whole Capitol. It's nothing short of beautiful, but for some reason, all I can think of is home. It was so much more beautiful, with its nature, the hills and trees and the meadow. I miss every bit of it, from the hideous coal mines to the bright city square and the green hills. Why can't I be home? I'm so upset. I just want to be in the woods with Teto and Len, ready to be forced to watch the Games but still together. Why did this have to happen? Why did I have to be called? I'm furious.

Suddenly, I remember where I am, and realize that my fists are clenched in my lap. I look up, loosening them, and I see Al looking at me with some concern. "I-I'm fine, just thinking," I murmur as the soup comes out. It's a vibrant magenta, and it's savory, not tart like I expected. After that, everything comes fast. The same dark brown roast meat from the train, still sliced paper-thin. A fruit platter filled with something that looks strangely like pale yellow strawberries. For a dessert, there's a sweet, multicolored swirly thing that Al calls "sherbet." It's delicious and fruity and tart, and I nearly eat myself sick with it.

"Well, my partner Ann and I want to put District Twelve back on top," Al says while I'm eating a bright orange part of the sherbet. "We're tired of people focusing on _just_ the coal, or _just_ the fire. So, we thought of a way to combine them both." For some reason, this makes me a little nervous, and I lower the sherbet spoon. "Let's go," I sigh resignedly. Back into prep.

Al is busy tweaking my chariot costume while the prep team tries to do everything they can in an hour. If I had an hour to do something for me, I would probably look decent. But they're acting like he told them they had five minutes. Alasia is dusting first my face, then my entire body with a strange black powder. I think it's the same thing that Marcus is trying to massage into my hair, and that Yasmin is painting on my fingernails. When they finish, I look like I've been dusted in coal powder. Then, Al comes out with a garment bag. "Close your eyes," he orders.

When I open my eyes, two things strike me. The first is how many diamonds I'm wearing. They're on the tips of the tiara on my head and furry shawl around my shoulders, clipped onto my ears, in two ropes around my neck, sewn into the waistline and hemline of my dress, around my wrists, and in belts around my shoes. The second thing is that every single thing I'm wearing is black. The tiara, shawl, dress, and wedge-heeled mini-boots are all jet-black. The same black is massaged into my curled hair, painted on my nails, and dusted on my whole body. It looks like I walked into a shower of black dust and walked out with clean diamonds.

At first, I'm absolutely dazzled by how I look. I look like a princess. Maybe that was part of what Al was going for. Then a strange thought hits, and I turn to Al. "Where's the fire?"

Al has a giant grin on his face. He slides a tiny flashlight out of his pocket and aims it at me. Then, he turns it on. I watch in the mirror, mesmerized as he moves it around. Wherever the light hits the black, both the outfit and the makeup, it explodes in rings of fire. When he turns it off, I'm dazzled. "How..." I breathe. I feel strange. I feel wonderful. For the first time in my life, I truly feel beautiful.

When we get to the chariots, I find Len and his stylist, who has unnaturally yellow hair and tan skin, plus stitches on her neck to match Al's on his forehead, already waiting. Len is dressed similar to me, except he has a remarkably decreased amount of diamonds. They decorate the tip of the strange cane he's carrying- probably for decoration- and the cuffs of the plain white shirt under his black coat. He has a top hat and black pants and boots, too. It looks like he's some kind of a businessman or something.

Len's face splits into a grin as I approach. "You look amazing," he whispers in my ear as I hug him. "So do you," I whisper back. We pull away and climb onto the chariot. Al nods approvingly as the District 1 tributes, with clashing silver and gold everything, leave to start the parade. "You two look fantastic," he declares. Len and I stand tersely, ready to be live on every single screen in every home in every district. "You nervous?" I hiss out of the corner of my mouth as the District 5 tributes pull out. Almost imperceptibly, he nods. Then, as the District 6 chariot leaves, he murmurs, "You?"

"No way!" As I grin, I realize that the words are true. I'm pumped up and loving it. Len and I have sponsors to earn, and we have to start somewhere. An old saying also worms its way into my mind: "The clothes make the man." I remember not getting that, because Len and I were taught that clothing is superficial. But as I'm dressed so beautifully, I feel confident. I'm ready to show the other districts what District Twelve can do.

As our chariot jerks into motion, Len finds my hand and grips it hard. The horses pull us into the City Circle, and everything stops. There's only polite applause, and even that is overpowered by booing. I look down and see that to them, we just look like we're dressed in fancy black clothing. No more. Our costumes aren't lighting up.

Suddenly, the first ripple of fire hits Len's top hat, and the crowd holds its breath. Suddenly every spotlight is on us, and we're exploding in a flurry of fire. The cheering is absolutely wild at this point. Flames are shimmering on my skin, my face, my dress, my tiara, and my furry shawl. The reflections dancing on the diamonds look dazzling. Al and Ann have pulled off what absolutely has to be the most spectacular costume of the night.

When the new president, President Argus, steps up to make whatever speech he makes, I take the opportunity to glance around. Lola from District 1 is glaring sulkily at us. Luka and Gakupo from 8, dressed in lavish ribbons, are also staring at us, thunderstruck and envious. Kiyoteru from 2 has his hand on Yuki's shoulder, like a father and daughter. Chii and Aido from 5 are embracing each other and staring out, smiling tearfully. Meiko from 4 is dressed like a mermaid, with her hair wet and slicked back. She looks very unhappy with her stylists. Miku and Kaito from 9 are smiling, but seem to be speaking in hushed whispers out of the corners of their mouths.

Then, as the cameras cut around City Circle ones the president finishes, I see that they linger on us. All of the other tributes get half a second as the cameras whirl around, but we get hit with so many lights that the ripples of flames are overlapping and exploding. The cameras stay fixated on us until the screens pop into black.

As Len and I clamber off of our chariot, Al and Ann find us and swoop down immediately. "You guys were amazing!" Effie squeals from behind them. "Fantabulous! Beautiful! I can't believe it! You're the best team I've ever had!" I try not to remark that we're only the third team she's ever had. "You did an amazing job!" I say grinningly to Al and Ann. Len hyper-nods beside me, then lets my hand go. I look down, surprised. I had forgotten he was holding it.

When Len and I find our rooms, I'm absolutely astonished. We're in the Training Center, on the uppermost floor. While Len's room doesn't have much, I have a beautiful view of the Capitol. It's a panorama, and I'm in love with it. I'm a dreamer, after all. Dreamers need to see what dreams can do, and the Capitol is the perfect place to see that.

Once I'm in the shower, I realize that the black powder is stuck to my skin. It's not coming off, no matter what I try. It rinses out of my hair easily, but then a thin sheet gets stuck to my back. "Urghhh!" I groan, frustrated. Finally, I start hitting buttons in the massive control panel, and end up getting a massive sponge with a pale green bottle of soap. It scrubs a little bit of skin off along with the black powder, but I'm just glad that it's gone. The only trace of what has happened is on my fingernails.

During the recap of the chariot ride, I have to admit that I'm dazzled by our costumes just as much as the Capitol. I didn't get the full effect, smiling and waving and blowing kisses. But with the fire overlapping on our lavish black outfits, it's beautiful.

That night, everything seems to be fiery. There's a plate of fruit skewers that's still on fire when it comes out- Al calls it "flambe." All of the food seems to be brilliant shades of red, orange, or yellow. There's a deep red meat that looks as if it's been charcoal-roasted. The whole time, everybody is exclaiming about how brilliant we were, or how fantastic it looked, or how much they were dazzled.

But although I accept their praise joyfully, there's a strange sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I feel like this isn't everything there is. To the other tributes, we're in the way of their sponsors. We're bumps in the road that need to be overcome. We're the first targets. And unless we can get enough people on our side, something tells me that the road ahead won't be this easy for Len and me.

_HEYGUESSWHAT. Training is next chapter! Isn't that awesome? We will discover what alliance Rin and Len form. Because they will form one. Till then!_


End file.
